Looking for Class C after pull behind (22r)...

[obx]

Recently sold my ultralight toyhauler and am starting the search for a replacement and right now the focus is on a slightly used Class C and through a lot of reading it seems the Minnie Winnie's are relatively trouble free (not that any RV is truly trouble free).

I like the idea of being "toad free" though I will probably either tow a trailer with a couple of motorcycles or use a light hitch rack for my wife's little Super Sherpa KL250 some of the time.

This leads me to think a small Class C would be more convenient. And that leads me to the 22R. But a possible hitch is it seems most 22Rs are built on the E-350 chassis, which poses some questions.

I read somewhere that the GCCC of the R on a E-350 is 1,645 lbs which seems tolerable, can someone confirm that number. (My wife and I have done a fair amount of 2-up motorcycle camping so we are used to traveling light.)

The second question involves "ride quality". I have a friend that has an F350 pickup and it has a brutal ride. My Tundra is a Cadillac in comparison. Would the E-350 have a more pleasant ride than an E-450?

What else should I be concerned about with the 22R on a E-350?

[creativepart]

Welcome!

In my experience neither the E350 nor the E450 offer what anyone would describe as a "good ride." With the E450 the GCCC is much improved.

The most popular C Class is the View/Navion but being on a Sprinter chassis has both many plusses and many minuses. Some of the reports of Class Cs on Ford Transit chassis sound pretty promising.

Even with the dump truck ride you get with Ford's Chassis it's not a deal breaker for many people. So, you might be able to overlook that issue.

Good Luck

[obx]

Talking to an owner/seller who just may know less than me. I asked him what the GCCC or occupants and cargo carrying capacity of his small E-350 Minnie Winnie was and he responded that he has no idea what I'm talking about. So where would the label with that info be on a late model Minnie Winnie?

[Eagle5]

Hi obx,
The capacity labels are on the driver's door, and I have mine as an example below.
I have driven a 22M with the E-350 frame, and also the 22M with the E-450 frame (which is my own.) In my opinion, they both ride smoothly. Actually, the E-350 in the 22M trim level is too mushy for my taste.
I believe you have quoted the correct cargo capacity for the 22R in an E-350 with the V-10.
If you get a 22R made with the Godzilla V-8 engine, Ford added 1,000 pounds of cargo-carrying capacity to it, so you should be able to haul about 2,645 pounds with it. The cargo capacity for the E-450 did not change with the Godzilla, so with the newest Class Cs, the E-350 to E-450 tonnage difference is 2,000 pounds. To be clear, the difference was 3,000 pounds with the V-10 models.
I believe the small Minnie Winnies have excellent reliability. Winnebago has made the same basic Class C for so long, inadequacies in the design are few and far between.
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

[obx]

Thanks Eagle5 and creativepart. I think if all else was equal I would prefer the E-450 .. or the E-350 with Godzilla engine (wasn't there some hand wringing and problems when that engine was first introduced?). But it seems that a gently 22R with E-350 and V-10 can be had for significantly less.

I've been lurking here and iRV2 reading about the various manufacturers and models and the Minnie Winnies seems to have less problems than most. My toyhauler had a large slide and I always held my breath when I hit the "retract" switch especially in some far away place like Quartszite. The slide always came in but I heard plenty of slide-out fail stories around the campfires. Thus the focus on the 22R.

[Eagle5]

Hi again obx,
With regard to the slide-out on the 22M, that seems to be very reliable. Winnebago introduced the 22M with the four floating racks, so the pinions always stay engaged. Older designs of the rack were mounted directly to the slide-out wall, and they weren't adaptable to the build tolerance of the slide-out box. In other words, the slide-out box needed to be built to a tolerance of ±¼"; and often times that accuracy was not achieved.
Another benefit of the 22M over the 22R is the larger size of the waste water tanks:
22M Fresh/Grey/Black = 40/45/40
22R Fresh/Grey/Black = 40/24/21
Sadly, the 22M is indeed more expensive than the 22R, so that is a limiting factor.
Good luck in your shopping.
Eagle5

[obx]

I have wondered if I was being over cautious about slides. I guess it comes partly from having landing gear problems in one particular airplane I owned. (My current airplane is simplicity itself, a j-3 cub.) That and campfire stories.

I think I read on this forum a 22M owner saying the bed-slide was 'more of an inconvenience than a problem' or words like that. I tried to find a video of the bed-slide in action with no success. Do you know of one? I guess I also have some "cracker barrel" concerns. We've used them to overnight with our pull-behind but never with the slide out.

The additional capacity of the black and grey tanks sure would be handy when boondocking.

[Eagle5]

When the slide-out is retracted, it can be used to sleep longitudinally aligned with the motorhome, but it would then be only 5' long. When I take my mother-in-law on a day-trip, she finds that ½ Queen to be comfortable (she is pretty short.)
The Dinette is long enough for me and my dog to sleep just fine; I am 6'-3", and she is 115 pounds.
The over-cab berth is an 8' long Queen so plenty of room there.
One problem when the slide-out is retracted is accessing the closet, but we have a solution for that:
Great idea from Bill (vanovafan) to flip the right-hand closet door on a 22M
We contacted Winnebago with this idea, but they never implemented the zero-cost change.
Eagle5

[Raxel7851]

Good Morning OBX. We had 2 Travatos before moving up to our 22M. We learned a lot about them from Mr. Eagle. We chose the M over the R for the additional room the slide out offers. The cabinets over the bed in the R are difficult to access and there’s no room on either side of the bed, so you’ll need to go over the edge of the bed to get in and out. Also the kitchen will have 1 sink in the R. Small things but they do add up. We did get the Godzilla V-8 and it’s been a great engine so far. The extra tank sizes are a plus for us. On extended road trips it allows us to not have to hook the sewer hose up. We can typically go 5-6 days before dumping.

[Cgtrapp138]

There are a number of Vita/Porto 24' on Sprinter chassis up for sale. You should check the FB page for Winnebago owner Vita/Porto wannabees

[obx]

I am completely ignorant of the Vita/Porto and Sprinter chassis...

[BobC]

Originally Posted by obx

Thanks Eagle5 and creativepart. I think if all else was equal I would prefer the E-450 .. or the E-350 with Godzilla engine (wasn't there some hand wringing and problems when that engine was first introduced?). But it seems that a gently 22R with E-350 and V-10 can be had for significantly less.

I've been lurking here and iRV2 reading about the various manufacturers and models and the Minnie Winnies seems to have less problems than most. My toyhauler had a large slide and I always held my breath when I hit the "retract" switch especially in some far away place like Quartszite. The slide always came in but I heard plenty of slide-out fail stories around the campfires. Thus the focus on the 22R.

Slides can be problematic so I understand your concern but most, if not all, have an emergency retract system. My slides are hydraulic so I can't comment on the purely electric systems. I don't know if you have much of an option but, although they're not problem-free, hydraulic slides are mechanically simpler.

As with any RV with slides, you need to make sure you have adequate access so you can use your MH with the slides retracted.

Personally, I'd steer clear of MHs with the galley or bathroom on a slide. Having plumbing connections that have to move in and out adds another opportunity for problems.